BS: Health: how to make myself robust?

Subject: BS: Health: how to make myself robust?
From: GUEST,Ian cookieless
Date: 06 Dec 07 - 04:30 PM

Dear Dr. Mudcat,

Every winter I see more hardy people battle through the winter with sniffles that are inconvenient, but which don't radically affect their ability to function. I *always* and *every* year go down with flu and a whole host of other bugs that make me bed-ridden for weeks. They put paid to weeks of music-making and other work and I have just about had enough. I have never had a very strong physical constitution (I have a weak chest, get this from my family, and every bug I get goes onto my chest) and so anything that's going, I tend to get it. The two years I had the flu jab were my two worst winters of all. Never again. (Did you know the NHS has conducted NO studies to measure the efficacy of the flu vaccine? Radio 4 last week.) I have asked various GPs if there is anything at all I can do, perhaps all year round, to strengthen my general constitution: chest strengthening exercises, diet (my diet is already good), general fitness, anything? I have never had an answer: 'Just live with it.'

Well, Dr, Mudcat, I don't want to live with it. I got out of bed to type this. I've had enough. Please give me some suggestions. I promise to do anything that sounds like it will work.

Yours in hope,

Ian cookieless

Subject: RE: BS: Health: how to make myself robust?
From: Becca72
Date: 06 Dec 07 - 04:38 PM

Stay away from sick people. And wash your hands a lot.

Subject: RE: BS: Health: how to make myself robust?
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 06 Dec 07 - 04:48 PM

Odd you should say that.. the only years I've ever had the flu, were the years I had the flu jab to prevent it. Besides, the flu strain changes every year, by the time an efficacious vaccine has been developed, it's mutated again.

There are various herbal remedies and vitamin supplements available that are suitable for weak chested people (scarred lungs from pleurisy when I was 18 and a dicky ticker for a while) but basically, the best defence is a good offence. Don't surround yourself with a sterile atmosphere. Building up a good natural resistance is half the battle, and you can't do that by living in a bubble.

The adverts may say things like 'FACT - there are more germs on your chopping board than your toilet seat' but there is also this FACT - not all bacteria are bad for you. Using copious germicidal cleansers kills these good bacteria too - otherwise we wouldn't need to be replacing them with pro-biotic drinks.

If your GP is telling you to just 'live with it', it's time to get a second opinion. Ask your practice nurse or see another doctor in the team (if you have one). Ask to be referred to a clinical dietician or get a personal fitness trainer.

Certain breathing techniques can help strengthen the chest muscles, particularly the diaphragm. These can help greatly if you get a cough, as you'll have a stronger base to work from and not wear yourself out so much. Singing regularly helps with the breath control, particularly classical singing.

Take care

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Health: how to make myself robust?
From: skipy
Date: 06 Dec 07 - 06:09 PM

Drink the slops in pubs & out of date beers from skips, it work for me!
Skipy

Subject: RE: BS: Health: how to make myself robust?
From: Rapparee
Date: 06 Dec 07 - 06:27 PM

Live in a bubble. Do the opposite of everything Liz tells you to do.

Seriously, there is NO simple magic way to avoid getting sick. Avoiding sick people -- fine, only often they're spreading the illness before any symptoms show up. Washing the hands -- great, IF you use soap and water and wash for at least 30 seconds (and use a clean towel to dry on). You might also want to avoid touching doorknobs, as they are great places to pick up germs and virii. Also avoid public places, don't use chairs others have used, and in general, live in a bubble.

You can keep yourself as fit and healthy as possible -- but you're NEVER going to avoid getting sick.

Sorry to be the one to break it to you.

Subject: RE: BS: Health: how to make myself robust?
From: Bill D
Date: 06 Dec 07 - 06:40 PM

The unfortunate thing is, the more you stay away from people, the less you keep up natural immunities thru occasional sickness. The flu & common colds DO change, so this is not a totally useful rule, but long-term isolation from other contacts can make you very vulnerable to new strains of diseases.

I do get the flu shot each year as a % guess that they picked the right culture to use.

Subject: RE: BS: Health: how to make myself robust?
From: Rapparee
Date: 06 Dec 07 - 06:43 PM

Usually the flu vaccine is a combination of "most likely" strains.

Subject: RE: BS: Health: how to make myself robust?
From: mg
Date: 06 Dec 07 - 11:28 PM

I think you can strengthen yourself. Do you eat enough fat and protein? They??? say if you don't eat enough protein you won't have a good immune system, and don't listen to them if they say the size of a deck of cards. Might work for some and not for others. Beef it up if you can. Likewise you might need more fats, even saturated meat fats and dairy fats. Depends on your metabolism which depends on your ancestry.   You probably absolutely need sunshine and fresh air, probably a lot more than you are getting. If you are sickly, sit in the sun wrapped in a blanket for long periods. If you are healthier, go for long walks. See a Chinese herbal medicine/accupuncture doctor. Get massage and accupuncture. You need to move the lymph around for sure. Drink lots of water. See a good naturopath. Never eat transfats. Treat white flour like the library paste that it wants to be. Eat chocolate if it agrees with you..drink various herbal teas that whatever experts you find recommend. Get lots of sleep and whatever you do, stay away from flourescent lights. Have you seen people who work under them all day who look healthy? mg

Subject: RE: BS: Health: how to make myself robust?
From: Helen
Date: 06 Dec 07 - 11:56 PM

Hi Ian,

Do a Google search on xylitol. It is a sugar from fruits and other plant material such as birch bark. It is also one of the key reasons why cranberries can make you better if you have things like bladder infections. It is pretty special, but look it up and see for yourself. The main thing that studies have found is that it bonds with bacteria in your throat, or on your mucosal linings or in your stomach and prevents the bugs from bonding with your cell walls and creating havoc with your system.

I and my hubby have been using it for various problems for the last few years, and we both swear by it.

Drinking cranberry juice is a good way to try it out, but it is a contact remedy, i.e. it affects the bacteria it is in contact with, so if you want to use it as a nasal spray, for example, then it is worthwhile to buy a quantity of the sugar and try mixing a little with water and putting it in a nasal spray bottle. (Even if you have to buy a Sinex product, empty out the yucky Sinex, and wash the bottle to put the xylitol solution in it.)

We also sprinkle it on fruit, etc, if we are feeling like we are coming down with something nasty. It works a treat on nausea and other tummy bugs, as well.

The best thing I know of for all sorts of respiratory and tummy-related bugs!! We found out about it from a New Scientist magazine article.

Helen

Subject: RE: BS: Health: how to make myself robust?
From: Janie
Date: 07 Dec 07 - 12:11 AM

Stress, depression (seasonal affective disorder?) and allergies may increase your vulnerability.

Regular use of alcohol (not necessarily excessive-simply regular), and regular use of cannabis can repress the immune system.

Not sure what you mean by weak lungs. If you mean you are prone to be mucousy, keeping yourself well hydrated and minimal use of dairy products can help.

Regular and adequate sleep.

Subject: RE: BS: Health: how to make myself robust?
From: autolycus
Date: 07 Dec 07 - 01:46 AM

I was told by a doctor that we don't drink enough water. I asked wqhat enough was. he said 6 ;pints a day. I rarely hit that height, but I've regularly sipped losts since.

Now in early 60s, and haven' had flu in years and no colds for many years after I upped water intake.

There is a book entitled "Your Body's mant Cries For Water" - that is ALL the book is about, our need for water.

I agree, too , about dairy. I'd add plenty of organic fruit and veg and chocolate, and steering clear of processed foods, which are mostly dead. A double-headed approach to maintaining a strong immune ststem.

Food manufacturer's do noy have any interest in keeping you healthy. They put in stuff like sugar which can be addictive, to kep you, therefore, buying your next hits.

And stay out of bed when illl unless you have anti-allefgic, specially-clean bedding. Full of dust mites and bed bugs that keep illness going. Or clean the bedding regularly. I loooooove bed too.

And insist to yourself you have no intention of being ill might help.



Ivor

Subject: RE: BS: Health: how to make myself robust?
From: GUEST,Ian cookieless
Date: 07 Dec 07 - 04:10 AM

Thanks all so far. I am prone to be 'mucousy', which is genetic (my mother's the same and, partly as a result, spends several hours a day on a machine that helps her breathe), but I don't ever eat dairy (allergic to it). I don't get enough exercise in general. Too busy doing 'useful' things. Yes, yes, I see the contradiction. I will change that. I *never* do and never have smoked any substance whatever (not even fish!). I hadn't heard that about cranberries. Though I am always wary of 'wonderfood' claims, I also do know that certain foods do perform special functions and, if it's worked for you, that's good enough for me. Thank you. I will look into my protein intake. Also, I don't sleep enough (too much to do, life too short) so, with a weak physical constitution anyway, I probably don't do myself any favours in that department. I need to make a 'list for action', make sure I stick to it, and see what difference it makes.

Thank you all so much. Any other ideas?

Subject: RE: BS: Health: how to make myself robust?
From: GUEST,Ian cookieless
Date: 07 Dec 07 - 04:12 AM

Sorry, one more thing: Ivor - "And insist to yourself you have no intention of being ill might help." After a disasterous winter last year (months of illness) I did insist to myself that I have no intention of being ill this year. It didn't help. That's why I started this thread.

Subject: RE: BS: Health: how to make myself robust?
From: Jack Blandiver
Date: 07 Dec 07 - 04:31 AM

Eat raw vegetables; lots of greens, and spinach especally. Raw garlic is good too, the Cilit Bang of the vegetable kingdom, which purges & protects and shifts most internal grime & also lets you know who your friends really are.

Recipe: Take one garlic clove, and chop finely (or crush), mix with a little parsley (optional) & place into a scooped out half tomato. Replace the tomato scoops and eat. Chances are you'll feel like shit for a while, but that's just the poisons being released from your system.

Otherwise, daily walks, fresh air, & make as much of the available daylight as possible.

And get to as many traditional singarounds as you can; a few roaring choruses on the old chestnuts can set you up a treat, but maybe before you've taken the garlic...

Subject: RE: BS: Health: how to make myself robust?
From: GUEST,LTS pretending to work...
Date: 07 Dec 07 - 04:43 AM

... in fluorescent hell with everyone around me coughing like a tuberculosis ward....

Have you tried Pilates exercises? There are lots there that help tone up muscles without being high impact and you can do many of them whilst doing other things.

There are lots of books and websites available but unfortunately, not being at home I can't give you an ISBN or a website. Try a Google for Pilates and see what you can find.

Is your tongue furry and white or creamy coloured? That's a good sign you're not eating properly. It's warm, it's moist and a great place for bacteria to develop. A good 'detox' with no sugar and lots of water will help.

Otherwise, cranberry juice, green leafy vegetables - brassicas especially, sufficient protein, sufficient fat, reduce the sugar and drink lots of water.

It's a slow process, you won't change overnight (full body transplants not yet being available), but make it your target to increase excercise by an hour or a mile every month, cut out one more bad thing from your diet or lifestyle.

Of course, if you could see me, you'd ask how can I give such advice - being as I am, overwieght, under excercised and eating chocolate... I have my targets for each month. I don't always get them, but I try not to step backwards. Make the target realistic and it's more likely that you'll get them. My target this month is to eat less carbohydrate and drink more at home. So far, not so bad.

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Health: how to make myself robust?
From: jacqui.c
Date: 07 Dec 07 - 04:57 AM

Ian - I was like that for years. finally went to a herbalist/iridologist who suggested the Hay diet (non mixing of proteins and carbs). I was very sceptical of the advice and it was a bit of a problem getting to the idea that some of my favourite meals would be excluded, but it worked for me. Most of the time I stay fairly well, it's generally if I stray from the diet that I get knocked out again.

Subject: RE: BS: Health: how to make myself robust?
From: GUEST,Ian cookieless
Date: 07 Dec 07 - 07:01 AM

Thanks again, folks. Being a vegan, I already eat huge amounts of green (and other coloured) veg. I don't add sugar to anything (except brown sugar in coffee) and drink huge quantities of tea (ordinary, Earl Grey, fruit). I hardly eat anything from a tin, cooking everything from raw, so as fresh as possible. My tongue looks OK. I think the answer is not in what I am putting in my body, but in strengthening either my breathing gear or my body's overall resistance to infection (or both) - in other words, overcoming my own individual physical weakness.

I will look into pilates and the Hay diet.

Thanks all. Any more?

Ian

Subject: RE: BS: Health: how to make myself robust?
From: Grab
Date: 07 Dec 07 - 08:35 AM

Being a vegan

Therein lies your first problem. Humans are omnivores and *require* a certain amount of animal-sourced nutrients. I'm not intending to attack your beliefs, simply stating a fact of human body construction. Whilst you can add individual vitamins and minerals to your diet in the form of pills and very careful diet choice, this doesn't give the same full-spectrum nutrient supply.

Exercise is one of the biggest boosters to health. The fitter you are, the less you'll get ill and the quicker you'll recover.

Whilst aerobic exercise is usually touted as the best way to fitness, trying doing some weights work as well, particularly if you find you put on weight easily. If you put on weight easily, chances are that your body's "default" feeding level is set higher, so you're taking in calories faster than you can get rid of them. Aerobic exercise burns calories just great when you're doing it, but it doesn't help much when you're not running/cycling/whatever. In contrast, weights work will build up muscles, and muscles burn calories even when you're not actually exercising, so overall you lose *more* fat. Note that it's not an either/or - you certainly do need a healthy heart and lungs from aerobic exercise - but if you are serious about improving your general fitness then it's worth considering this. And if you are overweight anyway, doing weights is usually easier on your body than running. Don't think you need to turn yourself into Arnie - simply getting yourself in shape (or toned up) will do the trick.

Graham.

Subject: RE: BS: Health: how to make myself robust?
From: Donuel
Date: 07 Dec 07 - 08:36 AM

flu is late this year.
Having the best immune system WILL NOT prevent you from getting the flu, only help you recover. SOO preventioninvolves keeping hands fingers and foreign spittle away from your nose and and keeping a high nose temperature. A cold nose allows for better infection rates than a hot nose. Thats why a nose mask is effective, not because it keeps anything out.

While bad for kids (halluncinations) I found that the anti viral drug Tamiflu made from star anise really honest to god works in keeping flu effects to a bare minimum.

IF you simply want to feel robust I felt that a Small! amount of Yohimbe and ginseng are sources of smooth energy.

Subject: RE: BS: Health: how to make myself robust?
From: GUEST,pattyClink
Date: 07 Dec 07 - 11:15 AM

Lay off sugar if there's a lot of it in your winter diet, it seems to feed viruses and lets them run wild. (I am not making this up, there are studies).

Get some sun every day (10 minutes can be enough) for the Vitamin D. Walk every day or do something physical, it works out the lungs, clears the sinuses and improves blood circulation.

Don't let your house be crackling dry, humidify the air if necessary, and get a steamy shower or bath every day. Keep the house clean of dust and crud.

Use saline sprays or one of those little nasal pots to get fluid up in your sinuses to help them drain. Skip the 'dry out your head' medicines, if God wanted us to have our sinuses cracked and dry he wouldn't have given us snot to clean them out. Learn to physically help your sinuses drain, tilting your head different ways to allow crud to drain before it becomes a problem.

Subject: RE: BS: Health: how to make myself robust?
From: bobad
Date: 07 Dec 07 - 11:23 AM

If anecdotal information is what you are seeking consider Winston Churchill who reportedly drank a quart of whiskey and smoked numerous cigars daily and lived heartily well into his eighties.

Subject: RE: BS: Health: how to make myself robust?
From: mack/misophist
Date: 07 Dec 07 - 11:31 AM

As another of those who never get colds, I can't offer any proactive advice. However... Do a search for 'hygiene hypothesis'. The idea makes sense and it seems to work for me. Furthermore, I've had 3 different surgeons compliment me on how well and quickly I heal.

Subject: RE: BS: Health: how to make myself robust?
From: GUEST,Neil D
Date: 07 Dec 07 - 12:53 PM

Vitamin C. Also, I agree with Grab. As a vegan you probably are not getting enough protein, iron and other useful nutrients. Aerobic exercise will help a lot, but you can't do it without fuel.

Subject: RE: BS: Health: how to make myself robust?
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 07 Dec 07 - 12:54 PM

Forget is, Ian. It may be in your genes to be that 97 pound weakling who is always sniffling. Viruses see you and decide to hold a convention.

A good single malt or tequila añeja is a comfort, if not a cure.

Subject: RE: BS: Health: how to make myself robust?
From: Cattail
Date: 07 Dec 07 - 01:20 PM

I'll go with guest Neil D above, I very rarely eat fruit, I never
eat CITRUS fruit, so I take a daily vitamin C tablet and a couple
of spoonfuls of cod liver oil for the joints Ect.

It works for me.

Cheers

Cattail !

Subject: RE: BS: Health: how to make myself robust?
From: GUEST,Ian cookieless
Date: 07 Dec 07 - 01:35 PM

Thanks again, all. Neil D and Graham (Grab): I was like this (always ill in the winter) from the day I was born (for reasons outlined above), and I wasn't bought up a vegan. I became a vegan. Being one is, for me, not a choice: eating meat and dairy makes me extremely ill. (Won't go into the sordid details, but until I became a vegan and sorted myself out - the doctors couldn't - I was literally so ill I thought I'd never work again.) I have looked into the vegan diet because I have *had* to, to make me well. If you are careful, a vegan doesn't have to miss any nutrients a meat eater has. So I have plenty of 'fuel', but thanks muchly for the suggestion of aerobic exercise and weight lifting. I am seeing a friend tomorrow who goes almost daily to the gym, so I will discuss the possibilities with her. (I am neither underweight nor overweight, by the way, but do have a high metabolic rate.) Thanks again - my 'to do' list is getting longer, and I am heartily grateful to you all.

Subject: RE: BS: Health: how to make myself robust?
From: autolycus
Date: 07 Dec 07 - 01:42 PM

I have read that tea (and coffee) de-hydrate you. So, about water, .........................................


    Ivor

Subject: RE: BS: Health: how to make myself robust?
From: GUEST,Ian cookieless
Date: 07 Dec 07 - 03:08 PM

Grab - and anyone else who knows: weight exercises. I want to strengthen myself to fight off chest infections, so I presumably don't want this? Should I just buy dumbells and try this at home, or do I really need to join a gym and be shown in person to save doing myself some mischief? And how do I warm up first? Advice, please.

Subject: RE: BS: Health: how to make myself robust?
From: Bee
Date: 07 Dec 07 - 08:28 PM

The very healthiest I've ever been was when I was doing yoga exercises every day, and swimming twice a week at a pool.

I spent much of my working life with young kids who catch and spread everything. Washing your hands frequently and thoroughly with ordinary soap really does help, a lot. Try not to touch your face in public, unless you've recently washed hands. Don't let people 'kiss' you as a greeting.

It's my opinion the flu shots usually do work - I haven't had influenza in many years. A lot of people refer to any bad cold as 'the flu', but it ain't.

Getting outdoors is good for you, plain and simple. If you can't bear to have a dog to walk you twice a day, enlist a friend or find a destination you really like and walk there.

Subject: RE: BS: Health: how to make myself robust?
From: Neil D
Date: 07 Dec 07 - 10:42 PM

Not at all to knock muscle building, it is important, however aerobic activity will increase lung capacity more readily, which will in turn help facilitate weight training and other toning exercises.
    It needn't be all that strenuous or involve much expense. Two steady miles at a pace of 35 minutes per 2 miles five time a week is a good starting goal. Get a decent pair of trainers and get going. In foul weather walk in an indoor shopping mall or get a walk aerobics video and do the equivalent.

Subject: RE: BS: Health: how to make myself robust?
From: Helen
Date: 07 Dec 07 - 10:43 PM

pattyclink said: "Lay off sugar if there's a lot of it in your winter diet, it seems to feed viruses and lets them run wild. (I am not making this up, there are studies)"

I've found that if I eat foods with too much sugar my sore throat or tummy bug or 'flu symptoms get worse, but if I use the xylitol and stay off the sugar then the xylitol has a better chance of working.

xylitol

Scientists said, "No, cranberry juice doesn't work on bladder infections. Old wives tale!", then, "Yes, it does work but we don't know why", then, "Amazing scientific discovery! Xylitol bonds with bacteria so that they can't bond with the body's cell walls and it's better than trying to kill the bacteria with antibiotics".

Lots of people at my workplace in winter (here in Oz) were going down with either the same or similar 'flu. Every time I've felt the tickly throat or my sinuses getting stuffy I have taken half a teaspoon of xylitol in water and sipped slowly, keeping it in my mouth as long as possible before swallowing. Also I have put some in a nasal spray bottle and I use that if it is affecting my sinuses or nose.

For the whole winter I was one of only 2 people in my section who didn't get the bug.

And it helps with reducing tooth decay, and stomach bugs, and...and.. I bought a kilo of it at the health food store, which was expensive but Hubby & I only use it when we need it for health things. You can also get sweets with it in. There's a brand called Extra Drops in Oz, and there is also Extra chewing gum, which is good because the longer you keep the xylitol in your mouth the better it can work on the ear infections and tooth decay.

You can use it as a sweetener in coffee, but it doesn't work on the bugs if you put it in tea. It bonds with the tea molecules, perhaps, rather than the bugs.

Helen

Subject: RE: BS: Health: how to make myself robust?
From: GUEST,Jeff
Date: 08 Dec 07 - 12:04 AM

"The very healthiest I have ever been...yoga everyday and swimming 2x per week. Yes, yes 1000 times, yes!   Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga by Swami Vishnudevanada by Bell Publishing. Has been out of print for years, but there's no doubt you'd be able to find one @ a bookstore or on ebay, craigslist. 'Light On Yoga' by B.S.K. Iyengar is another. Either one is a treasure trove. Yoga combined w/swimming and cycling will give you flexibility, stamina, cardio, tenacity and strength. Take yoga classes at the beginning as some of the poses can be quite strenuous and require support. However doing a dozen 'Sun Salutations' in the morning is as good a way to start one's day as there is under Heaven. Cycling as a means of tranportation/utility rather than recreation is great, also. http://www.bikeforums.net has a lot of great info on how to become a commuter or utility cyclist. Swimming will build upper body strength while putting no stress on joints. Don't count laps, just swim for time. 5 mins straight, then 10, then 20...then 50mins. Breast stroke and Freestyle. Have someone show you how to breathe for each type of stroke. Or get a DVD.

Sorry to seem a little abrupt. Ill health runs in my family, too and it angers me. You deserve to live fully. I watched my father give up on himself and vowed I wouldn't spend my later years a slave to ill health. The fact that you've posted here means you've decided to fight and not submit. Tenacity...that's spirit. The body will follow your lead. As your strength builds your immune system will improve and disease has nowhere to exist. Weight training is good, too as it exhausts muscle fibers in a way that cardio/flexibility disciplines don't. Do SOMETHING physically challenging everyday even if it's just cleaning your house...movement is what matters. Good on ya!!

Almost more important than exercize and diet though, is good sleep. Turns out I've got insomnia AND sleep apnea. I take medication for the insomnia and I have a C-PAP for the apnea. Haven't had this much energy in years. Had a sleep study done which revealed the apnea and 'clinical level' insomnia. So, if you're not sleeping well you may want to start there and then engage all or part of the above.

Subject: RE: BS: Health: how to make myself robust?
From: GUEST,Homey
Date: 08 Dec 07 - 12:13 AM

Pick your nose and eat snot to stay healthy!

Washington, Apr 11(ANI): It may sound weird, but an Austrian doctor believes that picking your nose and eating what you retrieve is one of the best ways to stay healthy.

Dr. Friedrich Bischinger, an Innsbruck-based lung specialist believes that people who pick their noses with their fingers are healthy, happier and probably better in tune with their bodies.

He says society should adopt a new approach to nose-picking and encourage children to take it up.

"With the finger you can get to places you just can't reach with a handkerchief, keeping your nose far cleaner.And eating the dry remains of what you pull out is a great way of strengthening the body's immune system," Ananova quotes Dr. Bischinger, as saying.

"Medically it makes great sense and is a perfectly natural thing to do. In terms of the immune system the nose is a filter in which a great deal of bacteria are collected, and when this mixture arrives in the intestines it works just like a medicine," he added.

He pointed out that children happily pick their noses, yet by the time they have become adults they have stopped under pressure from a society that has branded it disgusting and anti-social.

"I would recommend a new approach where children are encouraged to pick their nose. It is a completely natural response and medically a good idea as well," he said. (ANI)

http://in.news.yahoo.com/040411/139/2ci0w.html

Subject: RE: BS: Health: how to make myself robust?
From: Helen
Date: 08 Dec 07 - 12:57 AM

Or, Homey, if you get hayfever, just eat local honey and get immune to the local pollens that way. More fun and less icky than eating snot. Eeee-yewww!!

Next suggestion: drinking one's own urine?? No thank yew! (Unless I'm lost in the desert and in danger of dying from dehydration, but under no other circumstances, no way!)

Helen

Subject: RE: BS: Health: how to make myself robust?
From: GUEST
Date: 08 Dec 07 - 03:52 AM

Thank you all again. I considered yoga a few years ago but didn't pursue it. There are lots of classes in my area, but due to my not knowing which of those were good, bad or indifferent I ended up going to none. Sounds silly now. No more of that. My health is high priority now. If I go to one and don't like it, I'll go to another.

I used to go swimming 2 or 3 times a week and loved it. (It didn't stop all my winter infections, though.) The only reason I stopped is because the local authority closed down the pool and demolished it to make way for a road (!!!!) and there isn't another local one which is open when I'm available. Time to look again.

And yes, walking was something else I used to do regularly (which also didn't stop my disasterous winters). Now that I think about it, about 5 years ago I stopped doing all sorts of things when a new job and work took over my life. No more of that.

Homey, thanks but I think I'll lay off the snot. (And Helen, drinking your own urine in the desert will make you die more quickly because of the high salt content, which will dry you out.)

I will look into xylitol. At the bottom of the xylitol website given above, it quotes Dr. James Chappell: "Those who fail to take the time to be healthy will ultimately have to take the time to be sick." Yup. That's me. And I am so very, very grateful to you all for contributing to this thread to help me put that right.

Subject: RE: BS: Health: how to make myself robust?
From: GUEST,Ian cookieless
Date: 08 Dec 07 - 03:55 AM

Sorry, the post above was me.

Subject: RE: BS: Health: how to make myself robust?
From: maeve
Date: 08 Dec 07 - 06:50 AM

Good for you, Ian. You may have helped many others to make a similar positive choice by seeking support in this public way.

Your diet may be fine as far as your vegan approach goes. Still, the right nutritionist can help you evaluate the balance in light of improved information, and suggest other ways to boost immunity through diet. As you increase physical activity your body's needs will change.

Take charge of your choices by keeping some kind of record- on paper, as a recording, something! You'll appreciate the journey and have the information in front of you to evaluate and tweak your plan as needed.

I'd add only one thing. Be patient with yourself as you redesign your life for health. Little changes accumulate quickly, and as you feel and see good results you'll gain in energy, strength, and motivation.

maeve

Subject: RE: BS: Health: how to make myself robust?
From: KT
Date: 08 Dec 07 - 07:34 AM

Ian, one more suggestion.....at the first sign of a cold coming on-sore throat, dry cough, I start taking Optibiotic (available at Health food stores). A two week regimen along with lots of water and adequate sleep seems to be just the thing to stop the bug in its tracks. Good luck and be well! KT